Freddie Starr's daughter 'embarrassed' he is her father

Tara Coleman-Starr has said she is ‘embarrassed’ to be Freddie Starr’s daughter, and claims she won’t grieve for the late comic, who died last week.

Speaking to the Sunday Mirror, Coleman-Starr claimed her father was abusive and manipulative towards her and her mother, Trudy, who met Starr in 1994. The 22-year-old said: “No one wants to believe their dad is an evil, manipulative man.

"He never gave me a birthday present or Christmas card. He never tried to be a father.

“I don’t think he’s capable of love. I’m embarrassed to be his daughter.”

Starr was a hugely successful comic between the 1970s and 1990s, but his later years were filled with health issues and controversy.

The Queen meets singer Tina Turner, second from the right, watched by comedian Freddie Starr after the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium. (Photo by PA Images via Getty Images)

Coleman-Starr said: “As a performer he was amazing. I understand why people loved him. But that was a persona.

“He was two different people. On stage funny and a great comedian – off stage, selfish and violent. Me and my mum saw the real person.”

Starr proposed to Coleman while he was in the process of divorcing second wife, Sandy, mother to three of his six children. He was apparently unhappy when she fell pregnant in 1998. Coleman-Starr said: “He punched my mum in the stomach and told her he was going to leave her if she didn’t abort me.